Chapter 24: Sharing Me with Others from Now On

Chapter 24: From Now On, I'll Be Shared with Someone Else

After coming to an agreement with Yan Shenyun, Shu Hanqing had been counting down the days.

He had decided to leave with Yan Shenyun, but he was torn over whether to tell Rong Hua about it, because the Plot God was very insistent that he cut ties with Rong Hua.

Shu Hanqing wondered: wasn't Yan Shenyun supposed to be the protagonist?

The Plot God: "...He's a bit better than the rest."

Shu Hanqing thought, *Like hell he is.*

On the day Mu Ye was discharged from the hospital, Shu Hanqing went to see him.

The moment the ward door was pushed open and he recognized who had arrived, Mu Ye—who had been leaning against the headboard—straightened up, bracing one hand on the edge of the bed.

After days of treatment with medicine and healing abilities, the color in his face was clearly much better than it had been a few days before. He threw off the thin sheet, slipped on his slippers, and got up, grabbing the kettle nearby as if to pour Shu Hanqing a cup of hot water.

"No water for me, Captain."

Shu Hanqing stepped closer and closed the door. He didn't beat around the bush, instead offering a polite pleasantry: "You're looking much better now."

Mu Ye nodded. "I wanted to get out of here as soon as I could so I could see you."

That remark left Shu Hanqing at a loss for words. This was just how Mu Ye was—he loved saying things with double meanings that would make anyone's mind wander.

"Captain, I came here today just to tell you something face-to-face."

A muffled cough suddenly broke the silence.

Mu Ye had a gut feeling of dread. "Hanqing, whatever it is... could we wait a few days until I'm fully recovered, and then sit down and talk it through properly?"

He was still wearing that slightly loose white hospital gown, looking noticeably thinner than he had before the riot. The morning sunlight slanted across his shoulder, making him look more fragile than usual.

Mu Ye said in a low voice, "I thought I'd have to wait until I finished my discharge paperwork and got back to my room before I could see you. You didn't get hurt that day, did you? Yun Ying came by to visit me these past few days and said you've been busy out there all the time—couldn't even catch sight of you."

Busy.

What could he possibly be busy with? It was nothing but an excuse.

Shu Hanqing looked away from Mu Ye, his tone stiff. "...That day in District Ten, you didn't have to go and risk your life for me."

Mu Ye just stared at him, unblinking.

Those deep, dark eyes burned with a heat that was hard to look at directly. "Hanqing, I've always remembered what you told me once—that you're afraid of living alone. So as long as you're here, I'll never let myself die, no matter where I am."

The words, heavy with memory, wrapped around Shu Hanqing like a sticky net.

But this time, Shu Hanqing didn't hesitate like he used to. "Captain, I'm leaving the Shengsu Squad. For all these years of fighting alongside each other... thank you for looking after me."

Time seemed to stretch on forever in that moment.

Mu Ye pressed his pale lips tightly together. It was only after a long while that he finally spoke, his tone flat, as if he were offering Shu Hanqing an out: "...Is it because of Rong Hua?"

Shu Hanqing met his gaze, his expression calm. "Not entirely. I've been in this place for too long—I really do need a change of scenery, a different way of living. Take good care of yourself from now on."

Before he even finished speaking, Mu Ye suddenly lunged toward him like a man possessed.

That face, which normally remained unshaken even when the sky was falling, was now twisted with disbelief and bewilderment.

Shu Hanqing's heart jumped at the overwhelming pressure bearing down on him, and he instinctively stepped backward.

But a few seconds later, he abruptly raised his hand, holding it out between them in a gesture of resistance. "I've said what I came to say—I'm leaving now!"

Yet the hand he extended was caught the next instant by a scorching palm.

Mu Ye braced one hand against the wall beside Shu Hanqing's ear, his solid chest radiating searing heat, pinning him completely between himself and the cold white tiles. His breathing was ragged from the surge of emotion, and his lowered voice came out hoarse and dangerously seductive.

"Hanqing, listen to me—don't believe a word that kid says. How long have you two even known each other? What exactly has he promised you? Anything he can give you, I can give you too. He can't protect you on this base, and he can't take care of you properly."

"...Can you really bear to abandon our squad? When we first came to District Three, we had nothing—this Shengsu was built together by us. Don't go. Stay, alright?"

Sunlight slipped past Mu Ye's slightly turned figure, illuminating the half of Shu Hanqing's face that had been in shadow.

He allowed himself to remain trapped in that cramped, scorching space, listening to the pleading in his ear, but a cold, mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips.

Shu Hanqing's beautiful but icy eyes drilled into Mu Ye's, and he shot back, "You can give me? What can you give me?"

He stared at the face so close to his own, written all over with devotion and pleading, and a low, derisive laugh escaped his throat.

The memories of his past life came flooding back like a tidal wave.

In his past life at this time, Rong Hua had actually left Shengsu much earlier than now. And this Captain Mu—who now spoke so earnestly about the squad—had told him back then that they should disband the Shengsu Squad.

All the rifts and cold shoulders had started from that moment, forcing him to leave first like a stray dog, only to end up plunging headfirst into the web of desire and control that Lei Zheng had woven.

"I don't want it anymore, Mu Ye."

This time around, it was Shu Hanqing who said *no* first.

Had Mu Ye had any regrets in his past life when he told Shu Hanqing to disband the squad?

There are too many people in this world with a natural gambler's mentality. Even when they've already lost everything, with the facts laid out plainly before them and the verdict already set, they still refuse to believe it.

Even at the end of the road, they insist on staking all their hopes on a one-in-ten-thousand shot.

In the past, Mu Ye had always scoffed at such self-deluded fools.

Knowing the ending was already decided yet refusing to wake up and accept reality—to the old Mu Ye, that was too pathetic, too foolish.

But it wasn't until this moment that Mu Ye truly understood.

He had always thought that since he'd chosen this path all those years ago, he should be able to shoulder the loneliness and consequences that came with it.

But when he saw Shu Hanqing and Rong Hua being inseparable, saw Shu Hanqing reveal a relaxed demeanor he hadn't seen in ages for someone else, he finally understood what it meant to feel pain that gnawed at his very bones.

So even without a powerful Lei Zheng, a young and hot-blooded Rong Hua would still appear.

Then, if anyone could be that person, why couldn't it be him?

He could avoid making the same mistake again, even if he would face the consequences once more.

In that moment, Mu Ye felt as if a blunt club had struck him square on the crown of his head—a sudden, jarring awakening. He could never be some bodhisattva saving all sentient beings, nor could he atone for the sins of years past.

Deep down, he was utterly despicable. He couldn't bear to have Shu Hanqing ripped out of his life entirely, reduced to being someone else's.

He could only be like a gambler who had lost everything, desperately clutching the meager chips he had left, betting everything on the possibility that Shu Hanqing still harbored a last shred of affection for him.

"Don't do this, Hanqing, please don't..." Mu Ye's voice was completely cracked, his fingers digging into Shu Hanqing's shoulders through his clothes.

He hung his head, in a pleading tone so humble it was practically groveling in the dirt, a faint spark of hope rekindling in his ash-gray eyes as he looked at him: "Yun Ying mentioned the other day that you didn't even bother to come look at me, but I know you did, didn't you? I know I'm still in your heart, you still love me... right, Hanqing?"

Shu Hanqing listened, and suddenly let out a laugh.

The laughter sounded somewhat eerie in the hospital room.

A look of dawning realization mixed with bitter irony crossed Shu Hanqing's face: "...So, you actually knew something all along, Mu Ye. I always figured you were just a few screws short. But it turns out you're clearer-headed than anyone. All these years, watching from up high, seeing me pine for you and get nothing, watching me struggle and suffer—you've actually been getting a real kick out of it, haven't you? It must have felt pretty damn good."

Every word drained the blood from Mu Ye's face.

"No, that's not it, that's not how it is, Hanqing... Trust me, it's really not like that!"

Mu Ye was completely panicked now, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, like a man possessed, repeating over and over in front of Shu Hanqing: "No... I love you, Hanqing, I truly love you. I'd die for you anytime—you can take my life right now if you want it... Please, don't leave me, don't leave me here alone..."

Shu Hanqing struggled twice, but that body, just barely recovered from illness, somehow erupted with a brutal, stubborn strength, locking him in his arms like an iron vise.

Surrounded by Mu Ye's scent, Shu Hanqing gave up the futile struggle, his body going limp as he gave up and let himself slump against the cold wall.

He was choked with a rage he had no way to vent. He hated that Mu Ye was only now dragging out this so-called affection, so the words that came out of his mouth had no filter left, picking the sharpest knives to stab right where it hurt most.

"You say you love me, but funny thing is, Rong Hua says he loves me too. I can't exactly just dump him for you, can I? Weren't you just swearing you'd die for me? Since you're not even afraid of death... then you wouldn't have a problem sharing me with someone else, would you?"

Every word dripped with depraved, venomous mockery.

Deep in his mind, the Plot Guy was stunned into stammering by his shocking declaration: "...You..."

Shu Hanqing said to the Plot Guy in his head, cold and certain: "Don't worry, he'll never agree. I know Mu Ye too well—his cleanliness hang-ups are worse than anyone's, won't even touch clothes that someone else has worn. There's no way he'd accept something like this..."

Before Shu Hanqing could even finish his words, Mu Ye's voice came, with no room for backing out, a single word: "...Fine."

Before Shu Hanqing could snap out of his shock, everything went black.

Mu Ye's face, a mask of madness and barely contained desperation, had already lunged down and slammed his mouth onto Shu Hanqing's.

As if he wanted to grind Shu Hanqing to pieces and swallow him whole.

Shu Hanqing completely freaked out.

When he finally managed to shove away that burning body and frantically pulled open the door to flee the hospital room, his legs felt like jelly.

He was running so fast that the moment he turned the corner in the corridor, he ran smack into a young female nurse pushing a stainless steel medical cart.

"Clatter—!"

Metal instruments clattered to the concrete floor with a series of sharp, piercing crashes. Trays, gauze, and scissors scattered all over the floor, and Shu Hanqing himself looked a complete mess. In that moment, his brain was scrambled, and all he could do was mechanically repeat "Sorry, I'm so sorry."

He crouched down frantically to help the girl gather the scattered medical supplies.

Just as he'd almost picked up all the mess on the floor, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hand reach out.

Mu Ye had caught up.

In that instant, Shu Hanqing felt like he'd seen a ghost, every hair on his body standing on end.

He didn't even bother grabbing the last few forceps off the ground. He shot to his feet, spun around, and bolted for the hospital entrance like his life depended on it.

Behind him in the corridor, Mu Ye's breathless shouts rang out again and again, but under Shu Hanqing's desperate flight, the voice was finally ripped apart by the wind and swallowed up behind him.

It wasn't until he'd put several streets between himself and the hospital that Shu Hanqing finally slowed down.

Completely spent, he bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for air, his chest heaving violently.

After a long while, once his racing heart had calmed down a little, he looked down and only then noticed that his pant leg had been ripped open in the collision, and one knee was scraped and oozing blood.

Shu Hanqing let out a helpless sigh, couldn't be bothered to wipe it. He just sat down, stretching out those long, straight legs, looking thoroughly defeated, letting the blood slowly dry.

In his mind, the Plot Guy finally spoke up after holding it in for a while: "Treat the wound."

Shu Hanqing didn't answer right away—the impact of Mu Ye's unhesitating "fine" back in that hospital room had hit him way too hard.

He limped over to a nearby stall and used a few credits to buy a pack of cigarettes.

Leaning against the street corner, he chain-smoked three cigarettes in a row, letting the smoke hit his lungs, which brought a little sanity back to his about-to-explode brain.

He ground out the still-lit cigarette and concluded: "...Mu Ye's words back there were probably just to scare me."